The present invention relates to a system and method used to support vehicle layouts of assembly parts comprising vehicles using a man-machine interface.
To complete positional arrangements on the assembly parts efficiently and in a short time, an automatic design program such as a CAD (Computer Aided Design) using computer systems has been carried out. Such kinds of systems have been utilized for the layout of the assembly parts particularly determining a driving posture such as a clutch pedal, brake pedal, and so on.
For example, when determining a recovery limit position of the clutch pedal (a returning position of the clutch pedal after the clutch pedal has been depressed) during the layout of the clutch pedal, a basic data of the position layout shown in FIG. 1 and a rule (condition) data shown in FIG. 2 are prepared.
Supplemental explanations are attached to a right side of data as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The clutch pedal is operated within a Y-Z coordinate plane as appreciated from FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 shows a processing flowchart executed in a proposed layout supporting system.
When the basic data is inputted in a step 100, the system determines whether any position at which the calculation of layout thereon is not carried out is present in a step 102.
As appreciated from FIG. 1 (Data-d), the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal (X, Y, and Z coordinate values) is not calculated (positive acknowledgement in the step 102). The name of the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal (no calculated position) is displayed as a position to be calculated together with other names for non-calculation positions in a step 104.
After the name of the position to be calculated for the parts layout from among these displayed names (for example, the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal) is confirmed and its confirmation input operation is carried out (positive acknowledgement in a step 106), a set condition (refer to FIG. 2) on the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal such that the recovery limit position thereof is separated by a depression stroke from a depression limit position thereof is displayed together with other set conditions on the other positions to be still calculated in a step 108.
When, e.g., the set condition on the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal from among these displayed conditions is selected, the position to be calculated is specified (positive acknowledgement in a step 110), the position calculation using input data on the recovery limit position under the selected set condition is carried out (in a step 112). Thus, the recovery limit position of the clutch pedal is determined.
Upon end confirmation of the calculation carried out in the step 112 (positive acknowledgement in a step 114), position calculations for the other positions to be calculated are repeated (from the negative acknowledgement in the step 116 to the return to the step 102).
Upon end completion of calculation for all positions (positive acknowledgement in the step 116), a positional difference between each calculation position and one of the other positions having a relationship to the one calculated position in the assembly parts layout (for example, a step (height) difference between the clutch pedal and brake pedal) are all calculated in a step 118.
Thereafter, each layout position of the clutch pedal is finally determined upon a processing for a layout modification on the basis of the step difference (step 120).
In the processing routine shown in FIG. 4, the positions of the other assembly parts can be determined prior to a selection of the set condition to be applied to the present position calculation if in the step 110, the set condition to be applied to the present position calculation is not selected (a step 122). If the position calculation is not possible, another rule (set condition) can be selected in a step 124.
Since, however, in the previously proposed system described above, the positional difference between each position and one of the other positions having the relationship to the one position in the layout of the assembly parts is derived after all of the positions of the temporary layout have been calculated (in step 100 to 116), the derived positional difference is often deviated from an allowable range determined from a human engineering viewpoint, a remarkable change in the layout is involved. Consequently, an efficiency of positional layout for the assembly parts is reduced.
The same problem as described above occurs since the position calculation is carried out in the step 112 under the set condition which is arbitrarily selected from applicable set conditions (rules) for which all necessary data are completely prepared and, therefore, any condition required for the position at which the positional difference such as between the clutch pedal and brake pedal becomes favorable for the request by a system user and becomes in the allowable range is often not selected.
Next, another previously proposed layout design supporting system will be described below.
FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of another proposed assembly parts layout backing up system.
Various kinds of information on, e.g., layout of a vehicle are displayed on a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) comprising, e.g., a graphic screen (not shown). A user selects, e.g., a layout of assembly components in the vicinity of a driver's seat from among the various kinds of displayed information, depresses a corresponding key on an input device keyboard (not shown), and inputs, e.g., codes of components such as eyepoint of the driver, roof, steering wheel, accelerator pedal into the system shown in FIG. 5. The codes of the inputted components are stored in a memory A 23. A memory B 21 previously stores each of the profiles of such components as described above as a standard design of the layout of the vehicle in a state where each component is temporarily arranged in a region of the graphic screen of the CRT (temporary layout). A retriever unit 27 reads the temporary layout information corresponding to the user inputted component from the memory B 23 and detects whether the temporarily arranged component can be applied to a user's design specification, so called, layout requirement. If the detected result indicates that all components satisfy the layout requirement, the state of the temporary layout is displayed on the CRT and the layout is completed.
On the other hand, if any one of the components that does not satisfy the layout requirement is detected, the retriever unit 27 displays the state of temporary layout on the CRT and outputs a calculation command signal to a calculator unit 29. Upon receipt of the calculation command signal, the calculator unit 29 carries out a calculation of the layout if the component that does not satisfy the layout requirement is applied to a movement rule shown in FIG. 6. The calculator unit 29 does not carry out the calculation, i.e., the layout movement of that component is impossible if that component is not applied thereto. Consequently, the layout design cannot be carried out.
The movement rules shown in FIG. 6 will be described below. If for the component (accelerator pedal) E, the accelerator pedal is, e.g., arranged at a lower position with respect to, e.g., a Y coordinate of the other component (roof) F in an IF statement and a distance between the accelerator pedal and roof is equal to or more than 10 dots (pixels), the accelerator pedal indicated in a THEN statement is moved in the downward direction by 2 dots with respect to the Y coordinate.
The calculator unit 29 calculates and moves the component which does not satisfy the layout requirement on the basis of the corresponding movement rule and stores the state of the temporary layout of the component into the memory B 23.
The layout supporting system is repeatedly carried out in the way described above.
As described above, the proposed design layout supporting system carries out the design layout supporting, with the temporary layout previously stored moved in such a direction as to satisfy the layout requirement on the basis of the corresponding movement rule.
However, since, in such a component layout backing up system, the temporary layout is previously determined as the standard design, it becomes necessary to store many movement rules in the memory C 25 as the layout design becomes complex. In addition, if the layout change occurs, the user needs to calculate the distance and angle between correlated components so as to achieve the temporary layout in order to set these components on arbitrary coordinates. Therefore, such operations as to complete the layout design from the temporary layout are troublesome and improvements for such operations have been demanded.